Ankur Capital: newest kid on the impact investor block

Guns (over at the Villgro incubabor for social entrepreneurs) alerted me to the newest kid on the impact investor block – Ankur Capital. Founded by Rema Subramanian and Ritu Verma, Ankur provides a unique combination of seed capital and hands-on management support. Via a PDF brief and an email discussion with Ritu, I learned that Ankur works with a small number of social enterprises on a retainer basis (what they term “initial partnership phase”). Some of these partnerships lead to them investing in a seed round.

Ankur has raised $5 million and expects to invest between Rs. 20-25 lakhs (and possible follow-ons too) in the enterprises that make the cut. Their areas of interest include livelihoods, rural, health and education. They are closing two term sheets so you can expect some announcements soon.

This brings the list of impact investors with an India focus to 20. More importantly, there are very few making seed investments so Ankur is certainly filling a big gap.